Elisa Norman describes how being an RV inspector led to a full-time job in Episode 018

We have a great interview today. Elisa Norman is an RV inspector from Texas. In fact, she was one of the first people to complete training to get her certification, and she was one of the first women to become certified.

She describes the training she took and how it prepared her to do a thorough inspection of any RV. Elisa also describes some of the challenges she faced when conducting inspections. She’s got a pretty funny story about watching for mousetraps.

Her advice is valuable in the way it pertains to the tools used to perform inspections and why photographic documentation is essential to show not only what doesn’t work, but also what worked at the time the unit was evaluated. Pictures saved her and her client from a big headache.

Elisa was so good as an inspector that it caught the attention of a rather large dealership in Dallas that enticed her to accept a full-time job. She’ll explain what she does for the dealership and how the training prepared her for that.

She is very candid in her description of the challenges inspectors face in running their own businesses, but she still recommends the opportunity for people who are looking for full- or part-time work.

I just loved Elisa Norman’s story. She was stuck at a job she liked as an English teacher, but she didn’t make enough money to help her four kids with college expenses. So, acting on the advice of friends, and with the encouragement of her husband, Elisa took training to become an RV inspector.

That initial training opened the door for her to work with insurance companies by evaluating RVs before extended warranty coverage was offered. After doing that for a while, she saw more opportunity and drove from Texas to Iowa for advanced training.

That paved the way for her to conduct inspections for people looking to buy new or used RVs. Even though her business was growing and she liked the ability to work outdoors on her own, her strong work ethic, attitude and personality caught the attention of the staff at an RV dealership where she was actually conducting an inspection on behalf of a client.

One thing led to another and Elisa found herself working full-time for that dealership by inspecting RVs when they came in from the factory, evaluating the units before they are delivered to customers, and helping customers understand how to operate various components on the RVs they’re buying.

Those are the type of opportunities that are available to people of all ages who take training to become a certified RV inspector or technician with the National RV Training Academy. If you don’t want to work for a dealership, you can make a good living by running your own inspection or mobile repair business.

Elisa confirms that the work can be challenging, but also very rewarding in the way it helps other people. She’s also living proof that this career isn’t just for men and that women can make a very good living performing inspections or fixing RVs.

With the National RV Training Academy in Athens, Texas, the academy’s one-week live training or home study course will teach you everything you need to know to fix about 80 percent of the problems people experience with their RVs.

You can also sign up for additional training to become an RV inspector, campground technician or to provide mobile RV service. For more information, visit www.nrvta.com.